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User blog:BeastMan14/Review: "Midsommar" Is A Stunning Follow-Up From Ari Aster
When a director follows up their previous work, you usually see them expand on what made their previous film work. For Ari Aster, director of the bleak Hereditary, that simply wouldn't do, and he instead set out and created a film that plays with the same ideas before totally subverting them. An absurdist, colorful nightmare, Midsommar is a brilliant, thrilling film that that leaves you simply unable to look away. The Cast Much like Hereditary, the cast of Midsommar is small, with only five or so major characters, but immensely well-cast. As the film's lead, Florence Pugh continues to have a breakout year as she embodies a character so full of grief and pain that the moments where she breaks down and lets our loud, almost animalistic cries of sadness feel like a relief. It's a powerful performance and easily the film's best, especially across from Jack Reynor as her distant, toxic boyfriend, who is solid, but doesn't get anywhere near as much of a chance to emote, a decision that appears largely intentional. Accompanying them on their journey are William Jackson Harper and Will Poulter as Reynor's classmates and friends, who both give good turns, fleshing out characters that could've easily been stereotypes and making them feel like real people, while their guide (of sorts) is Vilhelm Blomgren, who does a good job at playing friendliness with just a hint of menace. It's well-cast, but outside of Pugh, no performance really knocks it out of the park, instead giving us just enough to buy these characters as believable. Score: 4 out of 5 The Script Aster's primary skill as a writer is character work, to the point where his films often feel like a character study rater than a traditional horror film and this is no exception. Midsommar is a meditation on grief, toxic relationships, and trust, and strangely enough, it's very funny too. The characters feel genuine in their interactionThe film's script acknowledges the over-the-top nature of it's premise and manages to give it an absurdist tone that simply makes the horror stand out more by comparison. Aster's other great skill is his attention to plot detail, with the story being littered with hints and small, seemingly unimportant scenes that suddenly come together in moments that make the viewer think "oh, shit, it was right there." While it gives the plot a sense of predictability at points, it mostly fills you with a sense of dread, like watching a car crash in slow motion and being unable to stop it and there's plenty of moments that you won't see coming. Score: 4.5 out of 5 The Direction Aster's direction in Midsommar feels like a remix of his direction of Hereditary. Many of the similar tricks are there, from the attention to detail that makes the films feel like living dioramas to unflinchingly close shots of the film's subjects, but there's a lot here that makes it feel different. Namely, the film's decision to set everything in bright daylight, which enhances the horror rather than cheapens it. With Hereditary, the usage of shadow and night time forced the scares to background, skittering just out of eyeline and making you question if you saw it, but with this, you simply can't look away from it as every little detail appears front and center. This is helped by the cinematography of Pawel Pogorzelski, who manages to make the daylight feel oppressive and simply "off", giving the film a great sense of claustrophobia, and the editing of Lucian Johnston, who knows exactly when to cut to make you the most uncomfortable. The musical styling by Bobby Krlic is great at building the tension as well, full of both ominous cues and dissonant serenities. And when I talk about detail, credit should absolutely go towards the production, costume, and make-up designers, who create a colorful, gorgeous village that still seems nightmarish once you scratch the surface, full of bright colors and beautiful, smiling people hiding shocking horro. Score: 5 out of 5 Final Verdict Midsommar is a genuinely incredible experience, something that left me (and all the other patrons) genuinely speechless as I left the theater. It's the cinematic equivalent of a bad trip, and while it won't be for the faint of heart, those brave enough to stomac it will be in for a hell of a ride. Score: 90% Potential Ballot Spots: *Best Picture *Best Director: Ari Aster *Best Actress: Florence Pugh *Best Original Screenplay *Best Original Score *Best Cinematography *Best Film Editing *Best Costume Design *Best Production Design *Best Make-up and Hairstyling Category:Blog posts